The St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets will meet Sunday for Game 7 of their Western Conference First Round Stanley Cup Playoffs series, featuring brothers Brayden Schenn of the Blues and Luke Schenn of the Jets competing directly against each other. This marks the first Game 7 between brothers in the NHL in 22 years.
The series has been marked by intense physical play from both sides. The Blues won Game 6 by a score of 5-2 to force the deciding game at Canada Life Centre. The home team has won each game in the back-and-forth series.
Physicality has been a constant theme. The two teams have combined for 501 hits through six games. St. Louis ranks third among playoff teams in hits, with Winnipeg close behind.
Adding to the intensity, Brayden Schenn was involved in a hit on Jets center Mark Scheifele in Game 5 that forced the Winnipeg star out of the series.
Luke Schenn addressed the hit on his brother days later. "You don’t want to see anyone go out of the lineup," Luke told the Winnipeg Sun. "Brayden plays physical, he plays hard. It’s unfortunate."
Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel was critical of the hit after the game. Blues coach Jim Montgomery suggested another hit may have injured Scheifele, which Arniel disputed.
During Game 6, the brothers had a heated verbal exchange near the benches, resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for Brayden.
"Just brotherly love. We’re just competing. That’s what we do," Brayden Schenn said after the game. "I love Luke, and he’d say the same thing about me and it’s nothing offside, it’s just the game and at the end of the day, we’re competing for our teams for the Stanley Cup."
Luke echoed the sentiment. "We talked before the series," Luke said. "We’re going to do whatever it takes to help our teams win. Just both competitive guys, and it’s obviously nothing personal. We’re both best of buddies, super close. Love each other. It was just heat of the moment, heat of the game."
The brothers' parents traveled to Winnipeg from Saskatoon to watch Game 7. "At the start of the series, my dad’s not really sure during games whether or not to be happy if someone scores or be mad if someone gets scored on," Luke said. "Before the series started he said all he was hoping for was Game 7, and then we can figure it out. That’s all he wanted."
Game 7 will decide which Central Division team advances to face either the Colorado Avalanche or Dallas Stars.
